liturgies together, their resemblance is found to be most striking; and it is impossible to deny that they have proceeded from one common source, namely, the ancient liturgy of the Egyptian church before the council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451. For here we have two liturgies agreeing in substance and order, both professing by their titles to be derived from the rites of the Egyptian church; both differing in order from the liturgies of all other churches in the east and west; and used by two bodies of men in Egypt, who have held no communion with each other since the council of Chalcedon.

The existence and use of the liturgy of St. Mark amongst the orthodox of Egypt is proved by the testimony of Mark, orthodox patriarch of Alexandria in the twelfth century, in his Questions to Theodore Balsamon, patriarch of Antioch. He inquired "whether the liturgies read in the parts "of Alexandria and Jerusalem, and said to have "been written by James ó adeλpółɛoç, and by Mark, are to be received by the holy catholic church, or nom."

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Theodore Balsamon himself says, in his Commentary on the Thirty-second Canon of the council in Trullo, that the liturgy of St. Mark was for the most part used by the church of Alexandria". It is true, that he mistakes it for the liturgy of James, as appears by the context. But his testimony establishes

m αἱ περὶ τὰ μέρη τῆς ̓Αλεξανδρείας, καὶ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ἀναγινωσκόμεναι λειτουργίαι, καὶ λεγόμεναι συγγραφῆναι παρ ρὰ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων Ἰακώβου τοῦ ἀδελφοθέου, καὶ Μάρκου, δεκταί εἰσι τῇ ἁγίᾳ καὶ καθολικῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἢ οὔ ; Leunclav. Jus

Gr. Rom. L. V.

η οἱ δὲ ̓Αλεξανδρεῖς λέγουσιν εἶναι (scilicet, liturgiam) καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Μάρκου" ᾗ καὶ χρῶνται ὡς τὰ πολλά. Balsamon in Can. 32. Concil. Trull. Bevereg. Concil. tom. i. p. 193.

the fact, that St. Mark's liturgy was used in the twelfth century by the orthodox of Alexandria, though he was not acquainted with the nature of that liturgy.

The use of this liturgy by the orthodox of Alexandria may be traced further back, I think, by the testimony of the ancient writer of the seventh or eighth century already alluded to. "St. Jerome," he says, "affirms that St. Mark chanted the course

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(or liturgy, as appears by his preceding remarks) "which is now called the Irish course; and after "him Gregory Nazienzen, whom Jerome affirms to "be his master, St. Basil, brother of the same St. Gregory, Anthony, Paul, Macarius or John, and "Malchus chanted according to the order of the "Fathers." Here this author appears plainly to me to refer to the Egyptian liturgies bearing the name of Gregory Nazianzen and Basil, as I have remarked elsewhere. Now, though he speaks of two of the liturgies used by the Monophysites of Egypt, he does not speak of Cyril's, which is the third: but he speaks of St. Mark as being the first institutor of the Egyptian rites. And this seems plainly to refer to the custom of the orthodox Alexandrians, who did not give their liturgy the name of Cyril, (though it was the same as Cyril's Coptic liturgy,) but of St. Mark; preferring the name of its first institutor to that of Cyril, who, according to the

Monophysites, "perfected the liturgy of Mark." We may perhaps regard this testimony as sufficient to shew, that a liturgy of the orthodox of Alexandria was called by the name of St. Mark in the seventh century, as we know it was in the twelfth.

Now this appellation in itself is a proof that the orthodox Egyptians thought the liturgy to which they gave it, the original liturgy of Alexandria. And the circumstance of the Monophysites calling one of their liturgies by the name of Cyril is a proof that they esteemed it to have been the liturgy of Alexandria. And, as I said before, Mark's and Cyril's liturgies differ from all other liturgies in the world, except the Ethiopic, but agree with each other.

The liturgy of the Ethiopians adds strength to these arguments. Ethiopia was converted to Christianity by Frumentius about A.D. 330, and he was ordained bishop of Ethiopia by the blessed pope Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria". At the schism in the Alexandrian patriarchate in the time of Dioscorus, and the council of Chalcedon, the Ethiopians followed the example of the Copts, and adhered to the Monophysite patriarch. Of course the origin of the Ethiopic liturgy is to be traced to Alexandria, from whence were derived their Christianity and their ecclesiastical orders. We should expect, then, to find a conformity between the most ancient Ethiopian liturgy and the Alexandrian rite. And the most ancient Ethiopic liturgy agrees exactly in

P Socrates, Hist. lib. i. c. 19. Sozomen. lib. ii. c. 24. Theo

doret. lib. i. c. 23. Ludolf. Hist. Ethiop. lib. iii. c. 2.

order and substance with the liturgies of Cyril and Mark, and with no others.

This Ethiopic liturgy appears plainly to be an independent rite; that is, although it received some additions from the Alexandrian rite in the fifth or sixth centuries, yet it did not receive all the additions that were made to the Alexandrian liturgy. And if so, it is highly improbable that its original order and substance were transposed or relinquished. For had such a transposition or alteration taken place, in order to suit the Alexandrian liturgy, then, surely, parts of that liturgy which were very celebrated and very excellent, would not have been omitted, as we find they are'. Now, if, on the hy

¶ I assume that the general canon (as it is called) of the Ethiopians is their oldest liturgy, because it does not appear to bear the name of any apostle or saint, and yet is more used and regarded than any of the others, though they have the names of apostles and famous saints. And the presumption from this is, that they esteem it to be their principal and most ancient liturgy. It occurs in Renaudot, tom. i. p. 499, &c.

First, in the Ethiopic liturgy the address, "Lift up your hearts," &c. does not occur, as Cassander has observed before me; see his Liturgic. p. 27. This form and the responses which follow are certainly wanting in the Ethiopic liturgy. Yet they are most ancient, and most celebrated in the Christian church;

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and in the fifth century were used, not only at Alexandria, but in all other churches, except that of Ethiopia. Cyprian speaks of these words, and Augustine said, Every day throughout the whole world the human race reply, that they lift up their hearts unto the Lord." De Ver. Relig. Chrysostom testifies the use of these forms at Antioch; Cyril at Jerusalem; Cæsarius and Eligius in Gaul; finally, in all liturgies, except the Ethiopian, the same words are to be found. Secondly, the Lord's Prayer does not follow the prayer of consecration in the Ethiopic liturgy. Yet in the fifth century Augustine said, "Quam totam petitionem (scil. sanctificationis) ferè omnis ecclesia Dominicâ oratione concludit." Epist. 149. Benedict. edit. num. 16. And without

pothesis of Renaudot, Basil's liturgy had been the original liturgy of Alexandria, then the same order as Basil's would have originally prevailed in Ethiopia, and then (since the Ethiopian liturgy does not agree with the liturgy of Basil, but with those of Cyril and Mark) they must have altered the substance and order of their ancient liturgy. But if the liturgy of the Ethiopians suffered so material an alteration in order and substance, how highly improbable is it, that they would have omitted to introduce some of the best portions of the liturgies which it was altered to suits!

If, then, it has appeared that there are strong objections to thinking that the Ethiopian liturgy originally exhibited a different order from what it does now, (although it may have received many additions and interpolations in the course of ages,)—if this has appeared, then we must consider it as a proof that the liturgies of Mark and Cyril are, as they profess and appear to be, derived from the ancient Alexandrian rite which prevailed in the time of Athanasius. For these liturgies agree in order and substance with the Ethiopian general canon, which appears to have been an independent rite from its origin, and to have been derived from Alexandria in the time of Athanasius, A. D. 330.

Much controversy has been excited by the liturgy

doubt the liturgies prove, that in the fifth century, not only the Egyptian, but every other church, used the Lord's Prayer at the end of the prayer of consecration or canon. Many Fathers also of the fourth and third centuries mention this;

amongst whom Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Optatus, and Cyprian, are well known.

See Liturg. Cyrilli, Renaudot, p. 46. 50; Marci, 144. 159. Compare Liturg. Æthiop. Renaudot, p. 513. 518.